Stop Running Your Company from Your Checking Account | Bud McDonald

Your bank account cannot tell you what next month looks like. A forecast can. Bud McDonald has spent 35 years proving the difference is the whole ballgame. Most small business owners manage by their bank balance. Bud McDonald, founder of McMay Business Services, spent more than three decades leading turnarounds, managing P&Ls, and running large teams before he started helping small businesses do the one thing that separates the ones that grow from the ones that stall: see their money before it arrives. In this episode, Bud and Chelsea get into the 13-week cash flow forecast, why a four-page business plan beats no plan, the receivables conversation every founder dreads, how to price the outcome instead of the hour, and the real signal that tells you when it is time to make your first hire. Practical, unglamorous, and exactly the kind of thing nobody hands you when you start a company. **Timestamps:** 00:00 Intro 01:00 35 years of turnarounds, and why Bud started McMay 02:00 The business plan that fits on four pages 03:00 Budget, forecast, and the 13-week cash flow 04:00 The bank-balance trap 06:00 Chelsea’s spreadsheet lesson 07:00 Bookkeeping as the foundation 08:00 QuickBooks, Wave, and picking a scalable tool 10:00 The mistake behind most turnarounds: processes nobody uses 13:00 A turnaround story: communication first 20:00 Receivables, and the conversation nobody wants 22:00 When to fire a customer 25:00 Pricing: value your time, then price the outcome 30:00 There is no magic number for your first hire 34:00 Working on the business vs in the business 36:00 Where to find Bud **Resources:** - Follow Bud McDonald's LinkedIn Profile - Follow Chelsea Roberts' LinkedIn Profile **Other resources:** - McMay Business Services Website 🎧 Listen now on: 🔹 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/govcon-unscripted/id1766384482 🔹 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1NL0kFAvmgECLTJpUZYNHy   Like and follow us: 🔹 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GovConUnscriptedUS 🔹 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/govconunscriptedpod/ 🔹 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/govcon-unscripted/posts/ 🔹 JOIN OUR #govcon #community: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14618490/